Printing-press.



No. 648,938. Patented may s, |900. J. L. FIRM.

PRINTING PRESS. (Aypxicacionmed Nov. 2s, 1899.)

6 Sheeis-Sh'eet (No Model.)

(no undl.)

Patented May 8, |900. .l. L. FIRM.l

PRINTING IPRESS.

(Appximon med Nav. 2a, 1899 6 Sheets-Sheet 2,

No. 648,938. Patented May 8, |900. J. L. FIRM.

PRINTING PRESS.

(Application filed Nov. 23, 1899.)

(No Model.)

6 Sheets-Sheet 3.

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no. 643,938.v Patented may s, |900.

v y J. L. Flam.

PRINTING PRESS.

'(Appuminn med Nov. 2a, 1899.)

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

f /o/ba es 3 5 5 l0 )a 7 k I4 WS' i T fg- 7.

No. 648,938. Patented May-8, |900;

' J. L. FIRM.

PRINTING Pmss.

(Application Bled Nov, 23, 1899.)

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. y Patented May 8, |900. 'J. L. FIRM.

PRINTING PRESS.

(Application led Nav. 28, 1899!) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

(NQ Mdel.)

Tu: Nimmt una co. vnoou'mo., wAsnmaTuN. o. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH L. FIRM, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE GOSSPRINTING PRESS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PRiNTlNc-FREss.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 648,938, dated May 8,1900.

' ippnmionneaNovemtefzs,1899. stanno. 737,989. memorial.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. FIRM, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPrinting-Presses, of which the following is a specification.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a new and improvedprinting-press which is adapted to print a plurality of copies of anewspaper or pamphlet on continuous webs and to assemble the websbelonging to the respective newspapers or pamphlets in an expeditiousmanner by a less number of forms or plates than heretofore used. Y

Another object of my invention is to economize space and construction byhaving less form and impression cylinders where a plurality of webs areused, making a machine more compact in form and less liable to get outof order in operation.

Many of the parts of my improved press are substantially similar topresses heretofore in use, and it will therefore be necessary for me toshow and describe only such parts as are necessary for understandingnovel features.

Figure l of the accompanying drawings is a vertical longitudinal sectionat right angles with the axes of the printing-cylinders. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the press. Fig. 3 shows the position in which the pages areprinted, from one to eight, inclusive, on the webs C and D of Fig. l.Fig. 4 shows the manner of turning a portion of the webA laterally ontoanother portion of the same web. Fig.- 5 shows the arrangement of formson certain of the form-cylinders. Fig. 6 shows in edge view the positionof the pages in signatures containing,respectively,six,eight,ten,twelve,fourteen, and sixteen pages. Fig. 7 shows the same in isometrical view.Fig. S is a modified arrangement of the printing-cylinders. Fig. 9 is adetail of the mounting of an inking-cylinder in end view. Fig. 10 is aside View of the same. Fig. 11 is a modification of Fig. 1.

The form and impression cylinders, the inking-rolls, and the web-holdingrolls are all mounted with their axes parallel upon the frame 200. Thelocation of these.rolls and the positions of the guide-rolls will bestbe explained by describing the path of each web through the machine.

The supply-rolls of webs A and B are located one above the other at oneend of the printing mechanisms. the webs C and D are located one abovethe other at the opposite end of the printing mechanisms. The foldingmechanism a ot for the webs A and B is located at the end of the machineoutside of the supply-rolls for those webs. The folding mechanism b cfor the webs C and D is located at the opposite end of the machine 'andoutside of the supply-rolls of the webs C and D. VThus the printingmech.

anisms are grouped at the middle of the machine, and at each end thereofare placed two Web-supplying rolls and the mechanism for foldingthe'same after printing.

Each web for the purpose-of being printed proceeds from its supply-rolltoward the middie of the machine, the webs of one end proceedinginversely to those at the opposite end. After being printed each webreturns toward the end of the machine from which it started and proceedspast its supply-roll to the folding mechanism located behind itssupply-roll at that end.

The printing mechanisms for the several Webs are arranged so that thepair of printing mechanisms for the two upper webs coming from oppositeends of the machine occupy corresponding positions horizontally and thepair'of print-ing mechanisms for the lower webs coming from oppositeends of the machine occupy corresponding positions beneath the firstpair. One form-cylinder, as H, is made to serve in both the printingmechanisms of the first pair and another form-cylinder, as L, is made toserve in both printing mechanisms of the second pair., The formcylindersF and H print upon the web Aand the form-cylinders O and H print uponthe web C. Similarly-they form-cylinders J and L print upon the web -Band the form-cylinders R and L print upon the web D. The two centralform-cylinders H and L' may receive ink from different or from the sameinking mechanism interposed between them, as shown, respectively, inFigs. l and l1, as well as from additional inking mechanisms lo- Thesupply-rolls of IOO R are provided with corresponding inking' mechanismsconsisting of the cylinders e, 7e, j, and Z, with their cooperatingrollers e' to es, inclusive, 7c' to ks, inclusive, j to 7'8, inclusive,and Z to Z8, inclusive.

The web A passes over the rollers 1 and 2 and to about theimpression-cylinder E and is printed upon one side by the form-cylinderF. It4 then passes about the impression-cylinder G and is printed on itsopposite side by the form-cylinder II. It then passes over theguide-roller 3, under roller 4f, where it is acted upon by the slitter101 to separate such sections of the web as is necessary, and then pastthe bars 15 and 16, by which any section of the webs may be imposed uponanother, if desired. It then passes over the roller 5, where thesections of the web may be further divided by the slitter 104, and thenbetween rollers 6 and 7 to the folding mechanism @and a The web C has asimilar course over rollers 2l and 22, beneath rollers 23, aboutimpression-cylinders M and N,wh ereit is printed "by the form-cylindersH and O, over guiderollers' 24 25, where it may be slit by the slitters102, over roller 2G and bars 17 and 1S, if desired,to impose one sectionupon another, between rollers 27 and 2S, and then over rollers 13, Whereit is engaged by the slitter 44C, and thence between rollers 3S, 39, 40,and 4l to the folding mechanism.

The web from roll B passes over roller S, under roller 9, aboutimpression-cylinders I and K, where it is successively acted upon byform-cylinders J and L to print opposite sides, then under roller 10,over roller 11, Where it is acted upon by slitter 100, if desired, pastbars 13 14, by which one section may be imposed upon another, overroller 12, between rollers 6 and 7, where it is associated with the webA and acted upon by slitters 105, and then to the folding mechanism dand d.

The web D passes over rollers 30 and 3l, about impression-cylinders Pand Q, where it is acted upon by form-cylinders L and R to print bothsides, about rollers 32 and 33, where one or more of the sections aresevered by the slitter 103, if desired, past the bars 19 and 20, bywhich one section maybe imposed upon another,` over roller 34, underroller 35, between rollers 27 and 28, where it is associated with theweb C, and thence to the folding mechanism b and c.

In Figs. 8 and l1 the general course is the same, the differencesconsisting, mainly, in shifting the relative position of some of theimpression and inlring cylinders. In Fig. 8 two of the impression-cylinders N and D are located outside of the form-cylinders Oand R', and their inking-cylinders k and Z are placed beneath theseform-cylinders.

In Fig. 11 the outer form-cylinders I, F, O, and R are made of half thesize of the formcylinders H and L, and a common inking-cylinder g isused for the form-cylinders H and L.

The form-cylinders I-I and L each print upon two 'different webs at atime-the cylinder II upon the webs A and C and the cylinder L upon thewebs B and D-thus saving many plates and forms, the number dependingupon the number of different papers being printed. Vhere eightl copiesof eight-page papers are being printed at each revolution, sixty-fourdifferent forms would ordinarily be required, whereas by the arrangementherein shown, the central form-cylinders being used for all papers,one-quarter of the above number of forms, or sixteen, vare saved,necessitating only forty-eight instead of sixty-four. The same is truewhen printing four copies of sixteen-page papers.

In printing eight-page papers four full- Width webs are used, which areslit on their central line and each folded longitudinally.

In printing a larger paper one or more of the sections of the webalongside the central line is slit clear of the body of the web andturned over bars, as 15 16, upon the section on the other side of thecentral line and is folded with it and its attached outer section.

In case ten, twelve, or fourteen page papers are being printed certainof the webs are either half or three-quarters width, and one section isslit from the others and turned over upon them, as shown in Fig. a. Forten-page papers two half-width'webs and two three quarterwidth webs areused. For twelve-page papers two half-width webs and two full-width websare used, the full-width webs being slit centrally and the two halves superposed by the bars, as 15 16, before reaching the folders. Forfourteen-page papers tWo full-width webs and two three-quarterwidth websare used, and for sixteen-page papers fourfull-width webs are used, theWebs in both cases being slit on the center line of the machine and theparts superposed, as described, before reaching the folders. In eachcase one-.quarter of the usual number of plates is saved.

In Figs. 9 and 10 theinl ing mechanism is shown mounted so that it maybe moved to one side to facilitate putting the plates upon the cylindersH and L. The inking mechanism is mounted upon a frame which slides uponguides on the main frame 200 and carries a shaft 304:, which has pinions302 302 thereon engaging racks 301 301 on the main frame, the shafthaving a crank 303 attachable to one end thereof.

I claim- 1. In a rotary printing-press, in combination, a pair ofprinting mechanisms having a commonv form-cylinder with the :remainingcylinders bf each mechanism grouped between IIO said commonform-cylinder and an opposite end of the machine, web-supply rolls andfold-v ing mechanisms located at each end of the machine and guidingmechanisms whereby each web is conducted from its supply-roll toward themiddle of the machine and thence back again to the folding lmechanismlocated at the same end of the machine.

2. In a rotary printing-press, in combination, plural pairsV of printing.mechanisms each pair having a common form-cylinder and the remainingcylinders of each mechanism of the pair extending from said commonform-cylinder oppositely from those of the other mechanism, web-supplyrolls and folding mechanisms for said printing mechanisms, andassociating and folding mechanisms combining the webs from one printingmechanism of different pairs, substantially as described.

3. In a rotary printing-press in combination with printing mechanismsgrouped in pairs, each pair having a common form-cyl inder and othercylinders extending oppositely from said com mon form-cylinder, awebsupply for each printing mechanism, webguiding mechanisms conductingone of the webs of each pair first to the common formcylinder and thento its individual cylinder, and the other web of the pair rst to itsindividual form-cylinder, and last to the common form-cylinder,substantially as described.

4. In a rotary printing-press in combination with printing mechanismsgrouped in pairs, each pair having a'common form-cylinder and othercylinders extending oppositely from said common form-cylinder, awebsupply for each printing mechanism, Webguiding mechanisms conductingone of the webs of each pair first to the common formcylinder and thento its individual cylinder, and the other web of the pair irst to itsindivid ual form-cylinder, and last to the common form-cylinder, andassociating and folding mechanisms combining and folding the webs fromcorresponding printing mechanisms of different pairs, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a rot-ary printing-press, in combination a pair of printingmechanisms having a common form-cylinder, and an individualform-cylinder for each printing mechanism, two impression-cylinders foreach printing mechanism located between the individual form-cylinder andthe common form-cylinder, said form and impression cylinders beinggrouped in a row, two inking mechanisms for the common form-cylinderplaced laterally of and one at each side of said row of form andimpression cylinders, and an inking mechanism for each individualform-cylinder and forming a continuation of said row, substantially asdescribed.

6. In a rotary printing-press, in combination a pair of printingmechanisms having a common form -cylinder, and an individualform-cylinder for each printing mechanism, two impression-cylinders foreach printing mechanism located between the individual form-cylinder andthe common form-cylinder, said form and impression cylinders beinggrouped in a row, two inking mechanisms for the common form-cylinderplaced laterally of and one at each side of said row of form andimpression cylinders, and an inking mechanism for each individualform-cylinder andforming a continuation of said row, and webguidingmechanisms passing the web about the impression-cylinders to contactwith the -form-cylinders in the two sets of printing mechanisms ininverse order or with the common form-cylinder first in one set and lastin the other.

JOS. L. FIRM.

Y'Vitnesses:

H. L. REYNOLDS, .CHARLES J. RATHJEN.

